JJB Sports settles football shirt overcharging case

JJB Sports has agreed to pay compensation to consumers who were overcharged for football shirts, a move that appears to end the long-running price-fixing saga.

The sportswear retailer said today that it has settled a case where consumer group Which? demanded financial compensation for anyone who bought certain England and Manchester United football shirts in 2000 and 2001.

JJB has now agreed to pay £20 a shirt to anyone who joined the Which? case, and £10 to anyone else who did not but can prove they bought such a shirt. Almost 15,000 people who have already accepted a free shirt and mug will be offered another £5.

"The agreement reached with JJB Sports is a good deal for the hundreds of consumers who purchased football shirts and joined our case against JJB," said the head of legal at Which?, Deborah Prince.

Around 550 fans joined the Which? case, and had bought almost 1,000 shirts between them. Prince explained that they would receive £20 rather than £10 because "they had shown a willingness to go to court".

The shirts were bought for up to £39.99 each for the adult sizes, Which? said.

Shortly after the case was launched in February last year, JJB offered a new shirt and mug to anyone who presented one of the shirts at one of its stores. Around 14,600 people took up the offer. As part of today's settlement, they can now claim an additional £5.

The deal means JJB must pay out at least £90,000 plus the costs of the case, but the final bill could be much higher. When it launched the case last year, Which? claimed that up to 1m shirts were sold at unfairly high prices.

The case dates back to 2003, when the Office of Fair Trading fined seven companies for running a cartel that fixed the price of football shirts. JJB was initially fined £8.4m, which was later cut to £6.3m.

Despite today's settlement, the OFT's ruling, and the refusal of the House of Lords to allow an appeal, the company did not admit it did anything wrong.

"While JJB recognises the right of Which? to bring an action for damages against the company, JJB does not, in settling the action, acknowledge or admit that any consumers suffered loss giving rise to an action for damages as a result of its words, actions, or behaviour," it said.